A meteor?
Nope.
It was a hand—a massive demonic fist forged from pure hellish power.
The purple ghost hand burned crimson with rage as it ripped out of thin air, slamming down with bone-crushing pressure.
"Since it's dinner time, why don't you try the dessert I brought first?"
Soren's voice was calm—too calm—but underneath it was ice-cold fury.
"This extra-large exploding meat pie…"
"On the house!"
The giant ghost hand clamped around the Creeper's upper body and smashed it straight into the ground.
The next second, a purple-red streak dropped like a meteor.
BOOOOM!!!
The impact cratered the earth. Rocks exploded outward. The asphalt shattered like glass, cracks spiderwebbing in every direction. A shockwave blasted dust and debris in a perfect circle.
When the smoke finally cleared…
Under the flickering headlights of the wrecked pickup, a tall figure stood tall in the center of the ruin.
The air around him swirled with faint purple demonic energy, coiling like mist around a demon god who'd just stepped out of hell.
Patty stared at the familiar silhouette, frozen.
"Yo. Looks like I showed up right on time—the party's still going."
Soren brushed nonexistent dust off his coat, then ground his heel into the pinned monster for good measure.
He glanced over at Patty, who'd been thrown clear by the shockwave, and flashed her a crooked grin.
"Miss Patty, mind if I claim this dinner all for myself?"
Patty looked at the guy who'd literally dropped out of the sky at the last second, heard that same cocky tone, and felt every muscle in her body finally relax.
She sniffed, eyes a little red, then lifted her chin and huffed.
"Hmph. Fine, you're lucky you—"
Halfway through the sentence her brain caught up.
Wait.
She had literally just called herself dinner to the monster.
And now this idiot was saying he wanted to "claim the dinner"?
This asshole!
Patty's dust-streaked cheeks flushed bright red. The guy had been copying Dante's sleazy lines since they were kids.
"Dream on, you jerk!"
She hurled the compact pistol at him in embarrassment. "If you want to eat this young lady, go ahead and chew on that first, dumbass Soren!"
Smack.
Soren caught the tiny gun one-handed.
The grip was still warm from her hand. Delicate cursive letters were engraved on the side—
Patty Lowell.
He slipped it into his inner pocket, then whistled at the blushing girl.
"Wow, you even brought a token of affection? Guess I'll have to accept it."
"You—keep dreaming! Give it back right now!"
Patty stomped her foot, ready to storm over and snatch it.
Soren was about to tease her more when he felt movement under his boot.
His eyes turned cold. He stomped down harder. "In such a hurry to die?"
Purple light flashed. Soren blurred and reappeared beside Patty in the same heartbeat.
Before she could react, he scooped her up—one arm around her slim waist, the other under her knees—princess-style.
Patty yelped, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.
Another flash of purple and they were already standing beside the overturned pickup.
Soren set her down gently. In his mind he told Alessa, "Watch over her. Don't let anyone near."
In the shadows, Alessa's small figure appeared. She nodded silently.
The area around them started to decay—rust spreading, the faint sound of giant blades dragging across metal echoing in the air.
Patty stared at Soren's back, cheeks still burning from being carried like that.
Soren looked at the Creeper crawling out of the crater and clenched his right hand.
"Come on out, new buddy."
Space rippled. The short-barrel shotgun materialized in his grip.
He'd only recently figured out how to store small objects inside the Silent Hill domain Alessa shared with him.
Before, he could barely control it. Now it felt like he owned a little pocket of the Otherworld.
Maybe Alessa had absorbed too much of his demonic energy…
Or maybe she'd simply accepted him.
Soren refocused on the monster.
Ka-chack.
He racked the shotgun one-handed. Anti-demon holy-flame rounds glowed with purple-red demonic power.
The Creeper stared at the new arrival from across the road.
It didn't understand why this seemingly ordinary meal gave off the same crushing pressure it used to feel when facing high-ranking demons in Hell.
The feeling excited it… and terrified it.
"ROAR!"
It lunged, hungry for the feast.
But Soren was already gone—leaving nothing but a red afterimage.
BANG!
A devastating punch folded the Creeper in half like a shrimp.
The monster flew backward.
The next instant Soren appeared behind it.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Crimson streaks flashed through the night as punches and kicks rained down in a merciless storm.
The Creeper was nothing but a punching bag, completely helpless.
"Game over."
Soren dropped from above, planting one foot on the monster's spine, looming like a king.
His eyes blazed blood-red. The shotgun barrel pressed against the back of the Creeper's skull.
BANG!
The holy-flame round detonated. The Creeper's head exploded into red mist.
Soren kicked the headless corpse like a soccer ball, sending it flying straight into the RV on the roadside.
CRASH—
The several-hundred-pound body slammed into the side of the RV like a cannonball, flipping the whole vehicle off the road.
"Bullseye!"
Soren nodded, satisfied, as gear and junk spilled everywhere.
This thing had never been strong in the original story—regular humans could hurt it, even trap it.
Even without full bloodline awakening, Soren could've ended it quickly.
The real problem was that it never stayed dead.
"Soren, careful! It won't die even if you destroy the head!" Patty shouted from the side.
Soren nodded.
From the wrecked RV came the sound of movement.
Crunch—
The shattered windshield was kicked out.
Scott and Micki crawled out, covered in cuts and glass.
Scott's face was full of shards. "Fuck!"
Micki's stockings were shredded, her perfect makeup ruined—she looked like a clown.
But the second they saw Soren standing on the road, every bit of resentment over being smashed by the monster's corpse vanished.
Especially Scott. He looked like he'd just seen his savior. He scrambled toward Soren on hands and knees.
"Help! Save me! You killed that monster—thank God!"
He crawled and shouted, terrified Soren would leave him. "Do you know the Armitage family? The ones who serve the top white elites…"
"Our family works for them. They have special medical resources money can't buy. If you save me, I can introduce you!"
Micki cried out too. "Please! Take us with you! Get us out of here!"
Soren stared at the pair with zero emotion.
Thanks to his partial control over the Silent Hill domain, he could see the darkness swirling inside them—greed, selfishness, betrayal.
He'd already guessed what happened the moment he saw Patty standing alone on the road while these two hid inside the RV.
Classic "throw the good one to the monster and run."
"Save you?"
Soren didn't move yet. He simply pointed behind them, voice deceptively gentle.
"If you can survive what's coming next… then sure, I'll save you."
"Huh?"
Scott and Micki froze, then slowly turned around.